Supreme Court Takes Up Michigan Affirmative Action Case

Looks like the Supreme Court can no longer split the difference on affirmative action policies. Instead, it appears set to issue a definitive ruling on the use of race and gender preferences in college admissions and government hiring. Jennifer Gratz, founder and CEO of the XIV Foundation – "an organization dedicated to equal rights for all citizens," -- has issued a statement praising the Court's decision to take up Schuette v. Michigan Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action:

The Michigan Civil Rights Initiative was backed by 58% of the Michigan electorate and simply states that public institutions cannot grant preferential treatment to any group or individual on the basis of race. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the will of the people last November.” Gratz continued, “The Court erred when it declared equality unconstitutional. We believe the US Supreme Court is poised to overturn the Sixth Circuit’s decision.

Gratz, was also the plaintiff in the 2003 Supreme Court decision Gratz v. Bollinger that struck down the quota system used in the University of Michigan undergraduate program. But in a separate opinion released concurrently, the court ruled in Grutter v. Bollinger that race could be used in a "narrowly tailored" fashion to advance diversity.

At a time when the country is embracing civil rights initiatives across the country that outlaw discriminatory policies, while it elects and re-elects an African-American as president, it is time to overturn Grutter.

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